Mechanism for eliminating dead centers



y 2, 1933; J. P. KELLY MECHANISM FOR ELIMINATING DEAD CENTERS Filed Nov. 30,. 1931 I n l l huuuw o Patented May 2, 1933 v Joim'fr; KE LY; or rrr'rsrrnnn, massacnusiarrs;assreuoa T ASSOCIATED Em aro anonaroams, 1110., or CHICAGO; rumors, A CORPOBATIONbF] DELAWARE,

'mncmmsn ron" mimina'rrue DEAD crm'masf I ucamnmed November 30, 1931. "Serial no. 577,923.

The present invention relates in general I to an improved mechanical movement designed to be employed for converting re-' ciprocatory movement into movement of rotation, theobject of the invention being to provide an assemblage of mechanical elements which will co-operate to overcome' dead centers.

thereof will be explained,

An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing,-

wherein Fig. 1 is a View of the invention in elevation and partially in section and as; employed to dIlVB a train control governor while Fig. 2 is a plan view, of the governor employed, but with the cover removed;

In the drawing the reference numeral 1 denotes a suitable fixed support and casing for the mechanical elements of the device; the numeral 2 denotes .a casing, supported by easing 1, which serves as a housing for.

thegovernor mechanism; while the numeral 8 denotes the shaft employed' to drive the governor, through the medium of mechanical elements includedin casing 1.

"Inorder-tofdescribe the invention, the manner of assembling the various parts The spring 18 is first placed over the lefta hand end of the shaft 8 and is then partially 80 compressed against; the left surface of a spring stop 23,, which is integral with the shaft" 8-. The spring is then held in-position in its semi com'pressed stateby a spring retaining horseshoe 32 slid over thede pressed portion 8-fof the shaft 8. The

spring 20 isnext placed over "the right-hand end of shaft 8, and isalso compressed to The end on which has been threaded and riveted an operating' element 17,-isnow inserted inthe bore 33 in the end of shaft- :8 with the'nut 82 threaded thereto. ThespriHg-QO-is therefore held in a semi-compressedstate by the retaining washer 19 andthe nut 82.-

Theshaft, springpand auxiliary connecting rod drivefshaft assembly,t,as just de scribed,?is'now insertedrinthe cylinder or barrel number f 9, 1 with 1 the lefteh'andi end of shaft 8*eirtended throughthe "cylinder for-connection with an appropriate driving means. I, I p p The sleeve portionlOf of a'connecting rod carrier 10'is'now slid overthe nut 82 and is held in fixed relation to the cylindrical portion 9 'by-cap-screws26r j, V The connecting rods '11and12 are secured tothe carrier 10 by the usualwrist pins 34 and 35, while the connecting rod '13 is connected in the usual manner by wrist pin 36.

The whole assembly, so fari described, is

nowinserted in the casing 1,.through the opening shownclosed by a cover- '30. With theassembly properly positioned, the cylinder portion 9' extends out 'th'roughithe left hand end of casing 1.- f

The three-crank crankshaft 3, having a driving gear 6 keyed to its'upper end, is

now inserted, via theopening shown covered by'the cover 31, into the casing 1 and into the be'ari'ng provided in the casing. The

is greater than theinertia required to rotate cover 31,.containing the lower bearing-for the crankshaft; Th'erefore, with the left handend of shaft 8 properly connected to'a locomotive piston cross-head, or to any other reciprocating member, thereof, the shaft 8 and cylinder ele'ment'fi) will bereciprocated asa unit, and, through the medium of their connecting rods llland '12, willrotate the gear ,Gand hencegear 7 and the governor,

at a speed contingent on the rate of recip+ rocationof the shaft 8. The crank towhich the connecting rod 13 is pivoted/is offset 30with respect to the cranks of connecting rods 11 and 12.- As the nut 82 on shaft 8' continues to oscillate, it never quite reaches eitherelement 17 or 17 of shaft 83, because these elements are at the same time being oscillated byJ-thecrank of connecting rod 7 13. Therefore, inthe operation as above outlined, the connecting rod 13 and ;its':crank I 0 and the spring stop 23 will simply drive its carrier shaft 83 back and forth without in any way affecting the drive.

It will now be assumed that the shaft 8 has ceased to operate or that it is operating so slowly that there is not sufficient inertia 'in the crank and governorto carry the crank past dead center position. Under such circumstances, with the crank in a dead center position, and with a further 'movement of cylinder 9 consequently blocked, a further movement of shaft 8, by compression of one of the springs 18 or 20, may still'occur.

In the drawing, the crankshaft 3 is shown with the cranks, to which connecting rods 11 and 12 are connected, on dead center as a result of the shaft 8 having been moved to its extreme left.

The shaft, in moving to the right, carries with it the spring retaining horseshoe 32 Obviously, therefore, the distancebetween these elements remains the same and the semi-compressed state of spring 18, accordingly, remains unaltered, Since the spring retaining washer 19 is adjacent part 10 of the connecting rod carrier 10, now in a dead center position, movement of this spring retaining washer cannot occur. Consequently, as the shaft 8 moves to the right, the spring is compressed until the nut 82 on the right-hand end of the shaft 8 encounters operating element 17 of the auxiliary connecting rod drive shaft. As the shaft 8 continues to move to the right, it now carries the auxiliary connecting rod drive shaft with it and, through the medium of the connecting rod 13, moves the crank 3 off dead center. lVhen this occurs, the excess pressure against spring 20 is again removed and the shaft 8, under tension of spring 20, again assumes its normal position with respect to the cylinder 9, which now, through the medium of carrier 10 and connecting rods 11 and 12, once more functions to drive the crankshaft 3.

Had the shaft 8 stopped in its extreme right-hand position, the subsequent move-- ment would have been to the left, instead of to the right as just described. The operation would have been substantially the same except that, as the shaft 8 moves to the left, it carries the stop 23 and spring retaining washer 19 with it; and, since the distance between these elements remains the same, no further compression of spring 20 occurs at this time. The spring retaining horseshoe 32, however, is butted up against the end of cylinder 9, now assumed to be in a dead center position, and therefore cannot move with the shaft 8. Accordingly, as this shaft moves to the left, spring 18 is compressed until nut 82 encounters the operating ele ment 17 of the auxiliary connecting rod drive shaft. 'As the shaft 8 continues to be seen, theshaft 83 is drilled to enable the lubricant toreadily enter the bore 33 of shaft 8, through the holes 22 therein and thence via the holes 24 and 25 to the exterior of cylinder 9.

Governor assembly In the assembly of the governor, a pinion 7 is first secured to the lower end of shaft i 5. The ball bearing assembly 60, spaces 61, and the ball bearing 62, respectively, are now placed on the shaft in the order named. An oil seal cover 63 is next placed'on the shaft. A collar 37 is now securely keyed to the shaft 5 and is prevented fromv sliding upwardly thereon by a nut 16 threaded on the shaft and held in place by a lock washer 47.. Immediately above the nut 16, lock and adjusting nuts 38 and 39 are threaded on the shaft.

In the next step, in the assembly, a disk 51, of insulating material, is secured to a contacting member 18 by screws 53 and passing through the insulating disk and threaded into the contacting member. The disk 51 is now secured. to a flange portion 55 of the fly ball carrier 38. The fly balls and their connecting links 11 and 4.2 are now pivotally secured to clevislportions of the carrier.

The spring 40 is next placed over the upperend of shaft 5, and, with the spring 40 slightly compressed, the fly ball assembly is anchored to the collar 37 through the medium of connecting links 43 and 14.

An appropriate amount of lubricant is now introduced, through the opening at the top of easing 1, after which the lower end,

of the governor assembly, is inserted'in the casing 1, with pinion 7 in'mesh with the driving gear 6. Vith the bearings and 62 in placeand with the cover 63 held in place by screws 56, the shaft 5 is firmly held against endwise movement, and is in readiness for operation.

The previously mentioned contact'niembcr48 comprises two circular metallic elements designated 41-8 and 50-, respectively.

These are insulated from .each other by insulation 49 In the next stage of the assembly, contacting members '21 to 75, inclusive, are piv otally secured to a ring 76-, of insulatin material. The ring 76is placed on a ledge I a rotatable crankshaft, a load to be driven by said crankshaft, areciprocatory shaft 7 7 formed within the governor casing 2 and is secured in place by'a number ofscrews 78'. With this assembly in place, the contact members .71, 72, and 7 3 are brought into operative relationwith the metallic contacting element 48 of the governor, while the contact members 7 4 and 7 5 are brought into operative relation with the metallic element 50 of the governor. Suitable terminals 80, at the base of the contact member assemblies 71 to 7 5, enable the necessary connections to be madewith equipment to be con trolled by the governor. Such leads are brought into the casing through an opening oscillatablfe in a fixed plane and'having connecting rods through the medium of which Y it can transmit 'rotary'motionto said crankshaft, an auxiliary connecting rod drive shaft carried bysaid reciprocatory shaft, a

connecting rod connecting said crankshaft with said auxiliary connecting rod drive shaft, and means enabling said reclprocatory shaft to transfer the drive of said crankshaft from the first connectingrods to the lastinentioned connecting rod whenever the rotation of said crankshaftwould be'otherwise prevented due to the cranks of said crankshaft having stopped in a dead center position. 1 I v 2. In a, driving arrangement for convert ing reciprocating motion into rotary motion, a crankshaft having two cranks positioned off-center with respect to eachv other, an

f one of said connecting rods alone as long as. 50 i assemblyassociated with saidcrankshaft and including a pair/of connecting rods. connect.- ing the assembly with the cranks ,ofsaid drive'shaft, means in said assembly for driving said crankshaft throughthe medium of the driving speed maintains suflicient inertia in said crankshaftto carry it past dead center positions, and means in said assembly for duivingsaid crankshaft off dead center with respect to said first connecting rod through the medium of the other connecting rod when the inertia is insuflicient to do so.

3. In a driving arrangement for convert-'- ing reciprocating motion into rotary motion,

acasing, a crankshaft mounted .for rotation within said casing, a pair ofconnectlng rodv carriers, a pair of connecting rods'connecting the cranks ofsaid crankshaft with said carriers, means common to said carriers for rotating said crankshaft through the medium of either of saidconnecting rods, and.

means enabling the crankshaftto drivefone -of. SaidJCOIIHGCtlDgrOd aDd its carrier while being driven by the other of saidconnecting 7 4. In a driving arrangement for ,converting reciprocating motion into rotary motion, ancrankshaft, a reclprocatory element for driving ,said. crankshaft, means enabling said element to be, reciprocated "a limited distance while thesaidcrankshaft remains stationary, and means operated by a further then drive-said crankshaft. 1

movement of said element at such time :to'

5; In a driving arrangement for convert I in g recipro'catingmotion into rotary motion,

a reciprocating drive shaft,: a crankshaft, a

connecting rod having oneend thereof connected;to a crank ofsaidcrankshaft; an element, towhich the other end'of said connecting rodis pivoted, flexibly secured to said drive shaft and through the medium,

of which a specific distance of movement of the drive shaft in either direction can move the crankshaft into a dead center position with respect to said connecting rod; and

means operated by a subsequent movement of said shaft for then moving said crankshaft off the specified dead center position. 6. In a driving arrangement for converting reciprocating motion into rotary motion,

a cylinder comprising a connecting rod carrier, a drive shaft partially enclosed'by said casing, springs'surrounding the enclosed portion of said drive shaft and having means co-operating therewith to normally hold said cylinder and drive shaft in a definite relation to each other under the tension of said springs, a-crankshaft having a crank v linked tosaid'. cylinder by a connecting rod and by means of whichsaid shaft and cyl-. 'inder can rotate said crankshaft to a dead center posit-ion, an auxiliary connecting rod carrierhaving a connecting rod linked to a second crank of said crankshaft; and means carried by. said drive shaft, which moves said auxiliary connecting rod carrier 'byamovement of the shaft with respect to said cylinder made possible by alfurther compression of one of said springs, to move said crankshaft oflI' thedead center position;

In a driving arrangementfor convert-- ing reciprocatory motion into rotary motion, a casing in one end of which a crankshaft f is mounted and'in the other end of which a reciprocatory element is mounted, a connecting rod linked between said element and crankshaft, means extending from within said element and reciprocatory therewith to rotate said crankshaft; and anauxiliary.

oscillating driving means, set in motion by saidreciprocatory element after the crankshaft has stopped in a dead center position with respect to said reciprocating element, to move the crankshaft off such dead center POSitIOIL'g 8. In a device for overcoming dead centers,'a crankshaft having two cranks positioned at an angle with respect to each other, a reciprocatory element for driving said crankshaft, means intermediate to said cranks and said element enabling power applied to said element to be directly transmitted to one of said cranks exclusively so long as the speed and load driven by said crankshaft generates sufiicient inertia to carry such crank past its dead center points and enabling power applied to said element to be transferred to the other of said cranks each time the speed and load driven by said crankshaft fails to carry-the first employed crank past one of its dead center positions;

In Witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 21st day of November, 1931.

JOHN P. KELLY. 

